Gator blues crash the Sound as bass push deep on 70-degree water

The Western Sound is telling two stories right now, and both of them are worth listening to. Water temps have climbed past the 68-degree mark — I'm seeing 68.2 at the nearshore buoys and pushing 70 in the back bays — and that's changing the game completely from what we had just two weeks ago.

The big news is the bluefish invasion. These aren't cocktail blues, either. I'm talking about legitimate gator blues, 8 to 14 pounds, that are absolutely demolishing bait schools from Throgs Neck to Matinecock Point. They showed up hard this past weekend and haven't let up. The pattern is classic mid-Sound structure fishing — they're holding on the deeper edges of the reefs and rockpiles, then charging up to crash whatever bait gets pushed their way by the tide.

Execution Rocks has been the epicenter. Fish the outgoing tide from two hours after high through the bottom of the ebb. The blues are staging in 35 to 45 feet on the south side of the rocks, then moving up to the 20-foot contour when the current really starts ripping. Large Mojos trolled at 3.5 knots are absolutely deadly — chartreuse and white, blue and white, anything with flash. If you want to cast, 2-ounce Crippled Herring or Deadly Dicks in bunker patterns will get crushed when you find the schools.

The Stepping Stones area is producing similar action, especially on the flood tide when bait gets funneled through the gap. I've been working the 25 to 35-foot zone with bucktails — 1-ounce white with chartreuse teasers — and the blues are absolutely slamming them. The key is matching the current speed. When it's really ripping, go heavier. When it slacks off, drop down to 3/4-ounce and work it slower.

Now, the striped bass story is more complicated. The warming water has pushed most of the fish deeper and tighter to structure. The schoolies that were all over the shallows in May are mostly gone, but the bigger fish — the 30 to 40-inch class — are still around if you know where to look. They've moved to the deeper channel edges and are much more selective about when they feed.

I had a charter out Sunday morning that perfectly illustrated this. We marked fish in 45 feet along the Matinecock drop-off, but they wouldn't touch anything we threw at them during the slack water. Once the outgoing tide started pulling and we had some current moving through, we connected on three fish between 32 and 38 inches. All came on live peanut bunker fished on fishfinder rigs, tight to the bottom.

The bunker situation is interesting. We don't have the massive schools you'd normally expect for late June, but there are pockets of adult bunker scattered throughout the Sound. The fish that are around are good-sized — 8 to 10 inches — and the bass are definitely keyed in on them. If you can find fresh bunker, either live-lined or chunked, you're in business.

Little Neck Bay and Manhasset Bay are both showing signs of the summer transition. Water temps in the back reaches are hitting 70 degrees, which is pushing the bass toward the mouths of the bays where they can find cooler, more oxygenated water. The grass shrimp hatch is in full swing, and that's drawing fluke into the shallower areas. I'm seeing decent fluke action on 3/4-ounce bucktails with white Gulp Swimming Mullets, especially around the channel edges where the grass beds drop into deeper water.

The porgy bite has been steady around any hard structure. Hart Island, the Throgs Neck Bridge pilings, even the dock lines in the harbors are holding fish. Standard high-low rigs with clam or sandworms are producing keeper-sized fish, though you'll have to sort through plenty of shorts.

Looking ahead, this new moon cycle should really get things moving. We're looking at spring tides through the weekend, which means big water movement and better feeding opportunities. The blues should continue their rampage as long as the bait holds, and I expect the bass fishing to improve as the stronger currents get them more active.

The key for the coming week is adjusting your tactics for the warmer water. Fish deeper, fish the current, and don't waste time in the back bays unless you're targeting fluke or porgies. The Sound is transitioning into its summer pattern, and the fish that are here are quality fish — you just have to work a little harder to find them.